From Russia With Love

Bond faces SPECTRE. Not bad, not great, and full of "nuance."

Here we go with the third collection of James Bond flicks, bringing all 19 to DVD once and for all. I'll be reviewing each of the third set's six titles-- three Connerys, two Moores, and a Dalton-- over the next six days, and I begin today with the second 007 film, 1963's From Russia With Love.

The Movie Most interesting about this early installment in the series is how much more nuanced-- some would say slow-moving-- the story is, and how tame the action sequences are compared to today's FX-fests like The World is Not Enough. But what's lost in action is more than made up for by the fact that Bond, here played by Sean Connery, is actually a character, not a smirking indestructible cutout, as he's become in his latest incarnations.

Tan and confident as a Kennedy.

The story: Bond is dispatched to Instanbul to locate something called a Lektor (not to be confused with a Lecter), a decoding device that the CIA, KGB, and of course Bond's old enemies at SPECTRE are all salivating over. Will Bond get to it first? Will he get the girl? Will the sun rise tomorrow?

Where do I apply to be a British agent?

More important than the outcome, which is of course preordained, is the ride along the way, specifically the scenery (female and topographical), the villains, and the action scenes.

As for the females, this movie's in good shape. Daniela Bianchi is pretty sweet as the Russian spy who would probably give Bond all the U.S.S.R.'s missile secrets if Bond asked her to... but there are other sweeties thrown in for no real reason, plotwise... I can't even remember who this chick was:

Quick! What color is her dress?

There's also a catfight scene, thrown in totally randomly. (In true Bond form, 007 asks his host to stop the girlfight-- which was to determine which of the honies would marry the prince-- and the host sends the girls to Bond's room so HE can decide. "This may take awhile," smirks Bond.)

Your daddy's Mr. Bigglesworth.

The villains are pretty good, although it's difficult to take any of them seriously after you've seen Austin Powers. Like the head of SPECTRE with his white kitty cat, and his assistants "Number Three" and "Number Five."

Robert Shaw is good as the bleached-blond double agent who corners Bond on a train, but I couldn't shake thinking of his role in Jaws.

"Farewell and adieu to ya fair Spanish ladies..."

And as for the action, well let's just say that Bond movies have come a long way, actionwise. There are four main action set pieces: a Western-style shootout where everybody's blasting away but Bond's sauntering around taking one shot and one shot only at exactly all the right people; a helicopter attack on Bond (very similar to the one in North by Northwest; a mano-a-mano fight between Bond and Quint (or whatever his name is) in a train compartment; and a very lame speedboat chase (no Live and Let Die- style aerial somersaults by the boats here).

One other thing I liked about the old Bond-- he's actually sort of awed and impressed by the gadgets Q gives him at the beginning of the film. I'm used to seeing Bond just smirk and not really give any indication that he likes his toys. I mean, come on, how often do you get a briefcase that carries ammo, contraband money, a fold-up sniper rifle, AND is booby-trapped? I guess anybody can get jaded after a while, but jeez!

Not the best 007 movie I've ever seen, but one of the better ones. 7 out of 10

The Video Here we have a low bitrate (below 5Mbps at all times), anamorphic transfer, with more than a little specking and spotting on the print. But the color tone is good and there is only a little artifacting (but when it's there, you'll definitely notice it). The blacks are pretty good, though, and diagonal contours are not overenhanced or ringed. 7 out of 10

The Audio This is a Dolby mono track, with an option for Spanish. Not the punchiest soundtrack I ever heard but it certainly gets the job done. The mix is fine and the music does not overpower the dialogue, as it sometimes can in bad mono mixes. 6 out of 10

The Extras There is a new documentary, about 45 minutes long, on the making of the film, that I found marginally interesting, mainly for the fact that this was only the second Bond movie and that of all the 007 stories Ian Fleming had written, this one was chosen because it appeared on John F. Kennedy's list of top ten favorite books.

There is another one called "Harry Saltzman: Showman," and it's about the contribution of the producer of all the Bond films until 1975. It's also fairly interesting but it didn't make me jump out of my seat.

There is also a storyboard sequence, a series of trailers, TV spots, and radio ads, and a gallery of publicity stills and posters and whatnot.

Finally, there is an audio commentary by director Terence Young, with comments thrown in here and there by members of the cast and crew (but not Connery). It's edited-together style, but it is screen-specific. 7 out of 10

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, but people who are accustomed to the "new-look" Bond might find it boring and slow-moving. But as far as I'm concerned, Bond week has only just begun, and I think it's off to a good start.